Domaine Armand Rousseau

Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru Clos de Ruchottes 2014

Domaine Armand Rousseau

Terroir: This Rousseau monopole of just over 3 acres sits perched just above Mazy-Chambertin and is the most northern of Burgundies Grand Crus.

Vinification: Grapes are meticulously sorted as they arrive in the winery. Following a cool maceration lasting 5-7 days the must travels by gravity into barrel where it will stay for the entire vinification process lasting typically 18-24 months. Each Armand Rousseau wine is blended unfiltered.

Recent Press

A core of cherry and strawberry flavors lurks beneath the floral and vegetal notes in this racy red. The oak is beautifully integrated, and this is layered through the long, spice-tinged aftertaste.Best from 2022 through 2040.

BurghoundAuthor: Allen MeadowsDate: Friday, January 15, 2016

Strong reduction. The superbly intense, powerful, focused and wonderfully chiseled mineral-driven flavors deliver a palate staining, austere and brooding but once again with a seamlessly well-balanced finish where a hint of wood treatment appears. This is at once refined and restrained though it's quite clear that this will also require extended cellaring.

Grade: 92-95 Points

VinousAuthor: Stephen TanzerDate: Friday, January 1, 2016

(20% new oak):Bright, dark red. Wilder and darker in fruit character on the nose than the Clos de la Roche, showing some smoky oak and a touch of reduction. Wonderfully silky in the mouth but with strong saline minerality giving definition and a light touch to the middle palate. More about soil than primary fruit or perfume, and distinctly less forthcoming today than the Clos de la Roche, holding more in reserve. Best today on the savory, spicy, firmly tannic finish. A sample from another barrel showed a similar note of reduction but more vibrant black raspberry fruit and suaver tannins. This very long wine should be excellent.

Grade: 91-94 Points

The Wine AdvocateAuthor: Neal MartinDate: Thursday, December 31, 2015

The 2014 Ruchottes Chambertin Grand Cru takes time to unfurl in the glass, eventually opening out with dark berry fruit, a touch of briary and blueberry, and a suggestion of sea spray. It is paradoxically intense but subtle. The palate is medium-bodied and here, it just shows the wood a little more than say, the Clos de la Roche. There is good density here, but it is the acidity that drives this forward and imparts so much tension. This is a Ruchottes that rivets you to the spot.